zimzum means The self-imposed "withdrawal" of a part of God to enable the creation of the universe, as described by Isaac Luria. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
Why this word is great
ZIMZUM — [Noun] In Kabbalistic cosmology, the primordial divine act of self-contraction or withdrawal, creating a vacant space within God’s infinite light to allow for a finite, independent universe. From the Hebrew צִמְצוּם (tzimtzúm, literally "contraction, withdrawal"). Unlike *creatio ex nihilo*, which conjures a world from sheer void, or *emanation*, which suggests an effortless, overflowing diffusion of essence, zimzum is a paradoxical metaphysics of presence through willed absence: creation by sublime retreat. It is the sculptor stepping back from the block, the silence between notes that shapes a melody, the hollow in a riverbed that defines the water’s course—the foundational truth that to make room for another, one must first vacate the premises.
noun
- The self-imposed "withdrawal" of a part of God to enable the creation of the universe, as described by Isaac Luria.“At an early stage in the creative process, En Sof had tried to fill the vacuum it had created by zimzum with divine light, but the "vessels" or "pipes" designed to channel it had broken.”